


Stubborn - Tobio Kageyama x Reader | COMPLETED

by IppenX



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Complete, F/M, Hugs, Kageyama is ... surprisingly romantic??, Kisses, POV First Person, Relationship built from 0 bc that's how I roll, Yachi saves the day, they're both just stubborn and blind to literally everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 01:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13155984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IppenX/pseuds/IppenX
Summary: It's no surprise that it took a shooting star for the volleyball-focused dumbass to realize he's fallen in love with someone who'd probably never see him that way - but knowing that didn't mean he was going to give up.





	1. The Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a cross-posting account: I'm primarily active on Quotev.com, where you can find me under the same username [IppenX].  
> Link to original post: quotev.com/story/9996871

I laid on my school desk, half asleep and trying to make up for the sleep I lost last night. My eyes were open just enough so I could see Yachi returning to our classroom, but the usual cheer on her face was nowhere to be found. She sat down at her table next to mine, sighing heavily as she stared at the ceiling.

"Sup."

She turned to me, trying to smile at least a little. "Hey there. Everything okay?"

"I told you I'm gonna throw you out the window if you ask that again."

"Gaaah, sorry! Please spare me! But you know I have to ask if I come back and see you resting your head down."

"You really don't have to." I grumbled, straightening up in my chair.

"You should see your expression right now ... it's the "grrrhhh, friendships are so annoying" face again!"

"But ... they are. Thank you for still being my friend though, I guess you're okay."

"I'll take that as a compliment! It's definitely the nicest thing you've said to me since the entrance ceremony! You're actually making progress, I just went from being annoying to being okay - it makes me happy!"

"Glad to be of service. You're weird today though."

She sighed again, handing me a few papers she brought with me. "I was in the staff room, talking with some of the teachers about the guys I've been tutoring ... you know, those two from the volleyball team who come over during breaks sometimes?"

 _Umpf ... a small, very loud human orange and that tall annoying looking one that always sounds angry._  
"Yeah, I know which ones you mean."

"Well, Hinata has been making decent progress, but Kageyama just ... isn't getting anywhere with Math and Modern Literature, as you can see from the tests he got back today."

I stared at the papers she gave me a moment earlier.

 _This is laughably bad. What an idiot. How can people be this stupid._  
"So?" I asked, handing her back the papers.

She shrugged her shoulders. "We've been discussing ways to get his grades up somehow, because the school really doesn't wanna lose him right before they play in the Nationals ... but if he keeps failing, he'll be kicked out of the team for sure. And ... no matter how much I try, nothing helps with him!"

"It's not really your job in the first place. You care too much."

"And you care too little. You'd understand if you'd be part of a team like ours!"

"Maybe. But I can't even go near competitive sports, remember?"

"Yeah ... uhm ... I'm sorry for getting side tracked. I should've just stuck with talking about Kageyama."

"What a hero. Sacrificing her nerves for an idiot."

"It's a nice thing to do! But sadly, I think I won't be able to help him learn no matter what I do ... my approach is just all wrong! And he's so weird ... he's kinda bad with communication, I can never tell what he's thinking or understand his reasoning and he won't even tell me if I explained something well enough or not!"

"Sounds like a handful."

"You know what? He actually sounds a lot like you!"

"What? No way. Now I'm almost offended. I'm not stupid!"

She shook her head, her wide smile returning to her face: "I didn't say you were! I just think you two have really similar personalities - maybe you could tutor him better than me?"

"Ack. No. Ewww. Forget it. I'm not doing that."

"Come on, just for a bit?"

"Give me one good reason why I should."

She tilted her head, a mischievous look dancing in her eyes as she searched for a good argument: "You said you wanna do normal things, right?"

 _I don't like where this is going._  
"I did say that, yes."

"Well, almost everyone in our class is tutoring someone from the non-college prep classes ... so it's a completely normal thing and you should try it too!"

Absentmindedly, I ran my hand through my hair. "You should quit this designer dream and become a lawyer instead, you know?"

"Is that a yes?"

"Eh ... sure. I suppose mom and dad will be happy about me picking up an extra activity."

"Great! Come with me, I'll introduce you guys right away before the break ends!"

I stood up, slowly following her as she pranced out of the classroom and down the hallway. "Just so we're clear, Kageyama is the tall angry one, right?"

She nodded, looking at me funny. "Tall angry one? I guess ... but then, what's Hinata in your eyes?"

"A really obnoxious orange. I don't like him. I don't like either of them, but I especially don't like the orange."

She smiled, patting my back. "You don't like anyone, that's just your personality. You don't have to like him, just don't yell at him too much, right? And get these fractions and whatnot through his thick volleyball skull if you can."

 

She proudly dragged me into Kageyama's classroom, standing me in front of his desk like a lamp while she explained that I'll be his new tutor from that day on. While she went on apologizing for the switch, the two of us just stared at each other, him looking up at me and me looking down at him as he sat behind his desk, drinking ... milk?

_Who the hell just causally drinks plain milk? Geez, he even looks stupid._

I glanced over at Yachi, who successfully got me into this mess, then looked back at Kageyama whose eyes were still focused on me, analyzing my every move without even bothering to say hello to me.

_Whelp ... what have I gotten myself into. This is gonna be just great. I can see it already. All sarcasm intended._


	2. Chapter 2

Walking through the gym doors, Takeda sensei waved to the boys who were already practicing serves with Ukai. He searched the gym for Yachi and Shimizu, walking up to them once he spotted them making drinks in the corner.

"Hey, Yachi, do you have a minute?"

She looked up, nodding before she followed him out of the gym. "What is it, sensei?"

"Well ... nothing good, I'm afraid." Takeda mumbled, fixing his glasses as he handed her the papers he's been holding on too. "Kageyama failed Literature again. And they haven't even gotten their Math test back yet, though I doubt it'll be any better. What's going on? Didn't you say you got him a new tutor? It's been weeks now and nothing has changed!"

"I did get my friend to tutor him ... but I have no idea how he's doing other than "he's annoying," "he's stupid" and "he's an idiot".  Still, I don't think he ever got this many points on a Literature exam before!"

"It doesn't matter much if he still fails in the end, sadly. Judging by how slow his progress is, he's gonna get kicked from the team before Nationals ... or even before that, I'm worried your friend might just give up on him."

Yachi smiled, looking over at the club rooms. "Give up? Her, of all people? You have nothing to worry about. As much as she hates teaching him, she's way too stubborn to give up on anything before it's finished. And after them spending so much time together, I'd go even as far as to say she probably thinks of him as some sort of challenge by now ... so I don't think she'd just drop everything. Though, if I can borrow these exams, I'll go show her right now - I think she still has club activities going on."

"Sure, they're copies anyway. Good luck with that!"

 

~~~

 

I was peacefully dismantling a telescope when Yachi came running through the club door.

"Did you get lost? Volleyball club is three doors ahead if I remember correctly. Unless you finally gave up on that and you wanna join the astronomy club now?"

"Please ... no. Too much science stuff. Are you the only one left again?"

"Yes. We finished early, I just wanted to stay behind to check if this thing works like it should."

"I'm glad you're still here either way, it's about Kageya-"

"I know."

"Huh?"

I sighed, lifting the telescope lens towards the window to clean it better. "He flunked the test, I know. His teacher came to tell me, she was all upset for no reason. He did get 20 more points than last time, right?"

"Yeah, but ... that's not gonna be enough!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I can't make miracles happen."

"Do you at least think there's any way you could get him to improve faster? Please? Pretty, pretty please?"

"Hmm ..." I mumbled, rubbing my forehead. "If you insist ... then at least help me out."

"Definitely! What do you want me to do?"

"Get me like, 3 volleyballs. You got spares, right?"

Confused, she nodded: "We do ... but why do you need them?"

"I have my own methods of work."

"And those are?"

"Not something you'd let me use. So just bring the balls and don't ask why - got it?"

She smiled, giving me a thumbs up. "Got it. I'll be right back!"

"And remind him he's supposed to come over after practice today! He forgot last time ... that freaking idiot." I yelled after her.

 _Heh ... she's really getting me the balls. I almost thought she wouldn't - but at least now, I finally get to have fun with this. Oh Kageyama, you'll be sorry for not studying as much as I tell you to._  

 

~~~

 

I got home not a long time later, dragging a net with 5 volleyballs behind me. I popped into the kitchen before heading to my room and saw my dad waiting for me, lunch ready in the oven:

"How was school?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "You always ask that. It was fine. Like always. Do I smell salmon?"

"Yes, you do. We haven't had fish in a while, so I thought I'd make that today."

"Be honest, you just don't know how to cook anything else." I said, smiling at him as I looked over the notes mom left us on the fridge.  "You know .... I actually kinda feel bad because I didn't get to say goodbye to her before she left. I set an alarm, but I slept right through it."

"I know, we heard it ring in the morning. Don't mourn over it - she'll only be gone for two weeks this time anyway. And besides, New York isn't that far away."

"I'm pretty sure they went to Los Angeles." I mumbled, trying not to grin at how clueless he was once again.

Accepting his forgetful fate, he just shook his head and went on: "Either way, she'll call once they're in their hotel.  She seemed really excited to finally take the girls to America to train - I really hope they get there safely."

I sighed, gazing at a worn-out soccer ball in the corner of the kitchen floor. "Yeah ... I wish I could still play. I could've been good at it ... I think."

"You miss it, don't you?"

I faked a smile, waving my hands in front of me: "Never mind, never mind. It's been ages by now, I was just a little kid, right? All little kids are good at sports anyway. Even if I could still play, she wouldn't be my coach anymore: there's no way I'd be on the national team!"

"Maybe ... who knows. But I wanted to ask you what's with the volleyballs? You're not playing or anything, right?"

"You know I'm not! They're for Kageyama ... he's coming over later today and I'm growing really tired of him losing focus all the time."

"So?"

"I'll try some alternative methods."

He giggled at my expression: "Boy, do I feel sorry for him sometimes. His tutor has a really bad attitude."

"The student has a really bad brain so I think the tutor should be excused."

"You're not going easy on him, I see."

"Of course I'm not ... he is just so damn stupid and he constantly forgets everything. Speaking of which ... " I said, looking at him to see if he'd catch on, but with no luck. "... you might wanna get the salmon out of the oven now."

To my amusement, I got to watch him jump and run towards the oven, saving the fish that already started turning a little crispier than it should. We ate, still talking about our day - well, mostly him talking and me listening. I insisted on doing the dishes and he let me, despite still feeling the need to tell me not to overexert myself because I still have to do tutoring later on.

"Don't worry, I'll take a nap later."

"Okay ... I'll be upstairs, working. Though I might go for a run later, should I wake you up before I leave?"

"Nah ... I'm fine."

"Got it. And don't forget to take your pills!"

I smiled halfheartedly as I headed towards my room, taking the volleyball net with me. "I won't, dad ... I'm not 5 anymore."

_Though I still kinda wish I was._

I tucked the balls away under one of my blankets, pulling the other one over my head as I laid down on the bed. Engulfed by the darkness, I closed my eyes, drifting between sleep and being awake. Slowly, I reached to grab a pillow from the pile I had stacked on the corner of the bed; as I pulled the first pillow towards me, everything seemed to calm down and I could clearly hear the thoughts in my head:

_8 days without a headache. That's not too bad._

Another pillow made its way into my arms.

_I wonder when I'll get to play soccer again ... if ever._

And another one.

_I also wonder why Kageyama is so stupid. And why Yachi thought this was a good idea in the first place._

With an overflowing amount of pillows in my arms, I finally managed to fall asleep on one final thought:

_Who the hell fails Modern Literature?!_

 

I had a lovely dream about watching shooting stars fall across the night sky. I was just about to reach my hand towards one when I was suddenly jerked out of my sleep by the sound of the doorbell ringing in my ears.

I quickly sat up in my bed, grabbing my phone to look at the time.

_My alarm hasn't even gone off yet ... why is he so early?_

"Eh, what even ..." I mumbled, running to open the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Behind the door stood a grumpy looking Kageyama, nodding in place of a greeting as I let him in, showing him to my room as usual.

"You're early today."

"Mhm." He grunted, showing me once again that getting a properly worded response out of him is feat not many can amount to. He put his bag down by my desk, sat on my chair and waited for me to get settled on my bed and start explaining stuff to him - a routine we've done over and over again. And judging by his Literature exam, a routine that still needed improvement.

"You failed Lit, right? Do you have the exam paper with you?"

"The teacher took them back after class. We get them on Monday."

"Okay. I heard you got better though. So if you really did study like I told you to, why did you fail?"

"Ummm .... I dunno."

"How don't you know? You saw the test, right? Did you forget where you lost points or what?!"

"Oh, that. Yeah I got a lot of the plot questions right, and also a few about the authors. It was full of stuff you told me to write on cards and look at to memorize it. But I couldn't remember everything. But then there was an essay part that was half the grade, and I lost almost all the points there."

"Almost all?"

"There were 50. I got 7 ... mostly for grammar. And I didn't get any for content."

"Zero on content?! Did you not read the book it was about?"

"No, I read it! It just ... didn't make sense to me. And I didn't remember it well because it's stupid."

Frustrated with his lack of appreciation for books, I stood up from the bed and started walking around the room in circles. "Which book was it?"

"Brave New World."

"Huh? You never said you were reading that one!"

"Well, we read it at the start of the year ... I didn't think it was important." He mumbled, looming over my desk with an angry expression as he took out his notes.

_Hmm ... this might be my chance._

While he wasn't watching, I snuck a volleyball from underneath my blanket. Still walking around behind him, as I always did to concentrate best, I proceeded to question him.

"Okay, so ... Brave New World. What's the plot?"

"A modern world where everyone is happy because they have an organized society. Also, they make people in factories. Also, they take drugs when they feel sad. Also, anyone gets to have a relationship with anyone at the same time."

"As overly simplified as that was, it wasn't wrong. Who wrote it?"

"Al- Al- ... uhm --- Huxley." He blurted out once he realized he didn't remember his first name.

"Aldous Huxley."

"Yeah, our teacher doesn't require us to know first names of people."

I smirked. "That's what you get for being non-college prep. You guys have it easy."

"Mhm." 

Surprised by his lack of a counter argument, I shot a sideways glance at him, watching him write down notes for a while.

_Hmm ... he already picked up that the easiest way to shut me up is to just agree with me? He sure learns fast for someone that stupid._

"Anyway, what year was it written?"

"Uhm ... after World War Two."

_There! There goes my moment!_

With full force, I threw the volleyball into the back of his head.

Startled, he jumped up from the chair, looking at me, then at the volleyball on the floor, then back at me. "What ... what was that?"

I sat back onto my bed, pulling of the blanket to reveal the rest of the balls with a victorious grin. "A new form of punishment. Whenever you get an answer wrong, I'm throwing one of these at you."

He tilted his head, still looking at me as he sat back down on the chair ... and then, he started laughing. The corners of his lips twitched up and before I knew it, he was almost on the floor, laughing in tears.

"Hey, stop that! This isn't supposed to be funny!" I said, throwing the other balls at him one after the other. "This is a punishment. Punishment, not a joke!"

With 5 volleyballs scattered around him, he eventually stopped laughing and looked back at me: "I ... I know, but ... I had to. You hit so weak! Weaker than Hin- ... the weakest guy I know!"

"Well yeah. I'm a girl. We're stereotypically weak and defenseless. Now, give those back to me."

One by one, he threw the volleyballs back to me and I readied my ammo as I continued to question him about the book. In total, he got hit 17 times in the next hour or so and I couldn't help but wonder how much over that number we'd get the next time I'd have to teach him Math again.

In the end, he finally seemed to have caught onto the material we've been over: "Aldous Huxley. Wrote it 1931, published it a year later. Set in the futuristic London society."

I nodded approvingly. "See, if you know all this info, you won't lose all the points on the essay next time."

"I still think I will."

I gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"Because ... we had to write about why that society was bad. And I had nothing to write because I don't see a problem with it."

Subconsciously, my mouth gaped open.  
 _He doesn't see a problem with it? The society Huxley specifically thought up to showcase the issues of immoral indulgence and capitalism is somehow fine to him?_

"A life without true joy seems okay to you? A life in which you can't be truly happy, or love someone, or expect to be loved?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I've never been in love. I think it's overrated. And as far as being happy goes, they still play sports in the novel, right? That means I could still play volleyball, and that's enough for me. I don't need anything else."

Silently grinding my teeth, I tightened my grip on the volleyball sitting in my lap.

"Kageyama ... I don't think you understand." I mumbled without looking up at him. "Yes, you could technically still play volleyball in Huxley's world. But ... the excitement you feel when you smell the air in the gym after a long time ... the rush of emotions you have before a match ... the pride you feel when successfully reading an opponent's move ... and the euphoria of adrenaline you fall into the moment you win ... you wouldn't be allowed to feel any of that. You couldn't strive to improve yourself, you couldn't help your teammates, you couldn't have a special bond with them, so ... it's not really worth it anymore, is it? Playing volleyball purely as an exercise routine ..."

"N-No ..." he said, stuttering. "It isn't. I never considered that. But .... how do you know all that?"

I finally looked up at him. "About Huxley's dystopian society? Easy, I read the book a few times and -"

"No, not that. I meant about .... the way I feel when I play volleyball."

I sighed, forcing my lips into a small smile. "Isn't it the same for any sport?"

"Maybe ... do you play anything?"

I shook my head. "I used to ... soccer."

"Really?! I know you told me your parents are both coaches, but you never said anything about playing yourself!"

"Well ... it's been a while now."

"Why did you stop?" He asked as innocently as possible.

I bit my lip, memories of the past flashing in my head.

_Hospital bed ... headache ... another hospital bed .... doctors ... a lot of lights ..._

Shaking my head, I pushed those out of my mind as best as I could. "I had an injury. Speaking of which, I have to take my pills."

He looked at the time on his phone, probably noticing he's put me into an awkward position on a topic I clearly didn't wanna talk about. "And I should be going too ... I'll get my stuff together."

I left him for a moment, heading to the bathroom and taking my medicine out of the drawer. In a swift, already accustomed motion, I gulped down three pills and a glass of water before returning to my room to see Kageyama already put all his notes and books into his bag and was waiting for me to see him to the door.

As we were walking down the hallway, he kept glancing at me with a weird expression on his face.

"What is it?" I asked as we got to the door.

"Uhm ... I wanted to ask if maybe, I could come over tomorrow too. I have a lot of Math homework that I don't understand."

"But ... tomorrow is a Saturday."

"I know. That's why I didn't know how to ask without imposing on you too much."

I sighed, thinking about whether or not I had any plans for tomorrow. "Well ... my mom's away with the team anyway. And dad's team has practice too, so it's not like you'd be imposing on anyone ... I don't have any plans either, so sure, you can come over in the morning if you want to."

"Is 10 okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I don't usually sleep that late anyway."

"Thank you." He said, bowing his head before he walked away. Just as I was about to close the door behind him, he turned around again, yelling up to me from our drive way: "By the way, I really hope your injury heals soon so you can play soccer again!"

I nodded, smiling as I waved him goodbye.

_Me too, Kageyama ... me too. But it's not that simple._

I wandered into the kitchen, thinking what I could make for dinner for dad and I.

_Wait, is he even home? He said he'd go for a run, but ..._

I was about to call out to him when I heard the front door open again.

"Phew, that was a good 3-hour run! Sweetie, you here?"

"In the kitchen!" I yelled out. "You were out for 3 hours? Holy shit."

"Well, it was a nice afternoon, so I enjoyed it to the fullest. I also passed your friend on the street, he was mumbling something about a joyless dystopia when he walked by ... you sure you're not frying his brain or something?"

"Positive. Do you want pancakes or do we settle for cereal? Also, he's coming over tomorrow too, so you might see him again if you leave at about 10 in the morning."

"I don't remember the last time we tried to make pancakes together ... high time we fix that! But, 10 in the morning? That's way too late! Best practice happens before 8!"

"That is one thing I don't miss about being on your team, sir." I said, jokingly saluting him as he took the milk out of the fridge.

"Well, I might be out until after lunch - you know you still have to call me if you don't feel well, right?"

"Daaaaaad, for the seven billionth time ..."

"Okay, okay ... you're not 5 anymore, I know that."

 

The rest of the evening passed by with laughter and the smell of slightly burnt pancakes. After taking a cold shower, I prepared my Math books on my desk and set an alarm for 9 in the morning before sinking into my pile of pillows. Usually, I'd be looking forward to dreams of space travel and aliens ... but for some weird reason, all I could see when I closed my eyes were memories of Kageyama being a silly idiot that day.

_In the end, I hit him almost 20 times ... and he laughed every single time. So much for effective punishment. But ... I don't think I've ever seen him laugh before. He's kind of .... charming when he laughs._


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning, I vaguely heard my dad leave due to the obnoxiously loud way he closed the front door behind him.

_Grhh ... father, why hath thou forsaken me?_

Momentarily awoken from my sleep, I turned in bed, mumbling grumpily as I drifted back to sleep for another couple of hours before my alarm dragged me out at 9.

I got up, ready to start the day. On my way to the bathroom, I looked around the empty house with a certain sense of pride.

_It has been so long already ... but they're finally starting to leave me home alone again for more than just a few hours. It's refreshing! Okay: shower, then pills, then leftover pancakes for breakfast!_

As I was munching on a pancake, the doorbell rang.

"Heeeeey!" I yelled out, letting him know I was on my way. I leisurely walked towards the door, letting him in.

"Good morning ..." He said, giving me a weird look. "You ... look different. That hoodie is way too big for you."

I smiled, flapping around the loose, over-length sleeves. "I know. But I like it."

"You look like one of those shut-in types. It's creepy."

I rolled my eyes. "Well excuse me for not dressing better before prince stupid arrived at my residence."

He looked away, blushing. "I didn't ... I did not mean it like that!" He exclaimed, his attention already caught up by the pancake I had stuck on a fork in my hand.

Seeing him so focused on it, I smirked and dramatically took a bite of it. "Don't tell me ... the idiot of all idiots is hungry?"

"Maybe I forgot to eat breakfast."

"Maybe?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe." He insisted.

"Want some? I have more left from yesterday. Dad and I made too many. Neither of us can cook that well."

His eyes lit up at the offer. "Can I really?!"

I sighed, showing him to the kitchen. "Kageyama, I have a stack of 20-something pancakes in the fridge. You think I can eat that many? Actually wait, don't answer that."

"Why not?"

"Cause I have a feeling you'd say yes." I said, pushing a plate of pancakes in front of him. "Syrup's on the table. I also have Nutella and strawberry jam and tuna."

"Tuna?"

"Yeah. I ate pancakes with Tuna once. Wasn't that bad."

"I absolutely despise tuna. You're weird."

"And you're stupid."

"Mhm."

I watched him gulp down pancake after pancake, an expression of bliss on his face. I was about to ask him if he wanted anything to drink when a thought came to my mind:

_I saw him drink plain milk at least twice ... is that his thing?_

I took a jug of milk from the fridge, setting it on the table before him with a glass beside it. "Here, suit yourself."

He looked at the milk, then at me: "Th-Thank you! I love this."

"I noticed. Drink away, it's gonna go bad soon either way."

 

After the impromptu breakfast, we went to my room and began working on his Math homework. Right off the bat, I was overwhelmed by how much of it he had:

"You think I'm gonna believe this is all new homework? And that you haven't been slacking off again?!"

"I wasn't, I swear .... but maybe, I fell asleep in Math class and got extra work."

"Maybe?"

"Maybe."

"Ahh ... this is not gonna be as easy. You don't understand any of this?"

"Not a thing."

I shoved some of the pillows away, making a space for him to sit on the bed next to me: "Come here. I'll explain."

 

We went through his homework bit by bit, both of us leaned against my wall, engulfed by a sea of pillows. I showed him how to do each example and while he understood them eventually, it took forever and we already made it to the afternoon with a little over a third of it still left unfinished. Surprisingly, I wasn't bored out of my mind for once.

_Shit, when exactly did I stop hating this?_

A thought flashed through my mind, but I quickly pushed it away.

_It's been weeks already. It's called getting used to something ... yeah._

But no matter how up to the task I was feeling, I noticed he was starting to slowly lose focus. In the middle of explaining, I turned to him to see if he was still listening, but instead of him staring at his notebook, I saw him staring at me.

"Hey, Kageyama?"

Nothing. Motionless, he stared into my eyes as if he just got lost in an ocean.

"Kageyama? KAGEYAMA!" I yelled out, punching his shoulder.

He quickly looked away, shaking his head. "Sorry, I was ... actually, I don't know. Sorry."

The faint blush on his cheeks made me just a little bit nervous: "No, it's okay. You're tired. Let's have a break. Are you hungry?"

He nodded.

"Well ... what do you like to eat?"

"Huh?"

"I'm gonna make something for lunch, it's about time anyway. It's not gonna turn out good either way, but if you have any preferences?"

He shook his head.

"Then I'm making rice and fried chicken with pineapple sauce."

He followed me into the kitchen, mumbling something behind my back.

"What was that? I didn't hear."

"I said if you could maybe skip the pineapple."

"You don't like it?"

"No, I just never heard of pineapple sauce on chicken. It's weird."

"Too bad, you're trying it today."

"Ew."

"Any further objections and I'm putting tuna in there too."

"Never mind. I give in. Anything but tuna!"

 

I cooked a somewhat decent meal, but he still ate it as delighted as if he were sitting in a five star restaurant and I couldn't help but smile when I stood up from the table to do the dishes.

"You just really like any food, right?"

"Mhm. Can I help clean?"

I shook my head, taking my plate off the table. "Just bring yours over he-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the world suddenly blanked out before my eyes. In a second, immense pain surged through my head and the plate in my hands hit the floor as I tried to calm down the headache - too late. Or maybe I never even had a chance this time.

"Ka-"

I felt his arms wrap around me, I heard him calling out to me ... but I couldn't reply. The light before my eyes slowly faded and in no time, I was engulfed in darkness ... with nothing to see, nothing to hear and nothing to feel.


	5. Chapter 5

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was a white ceiling. I lifted my hands into my field of view, casting shadows on my face.

_A hospital admission bracelet ... I could collect these if I wanted to._

I carefully shifted around in the bed I was in, trying to sit up a bit higher. The small room around me was empty, sunshine bursting through the small window to the left.

_It's ... morning? When did I faint ... wait, I remember. Home ... kitchen ... and Kageyama was there._

I felt a tiny pang of pain in my heart, knowing we'd probably never be able to have fun studying again now that he has seen me faint. Things just wouldn't be the same anymore ... it's how it always ends up.

_No use dwelling on that now ... let's see how long they'll keep me here this time._

I reached out, pressing the button to summon the nurses. 

 

One of them opened the door a minute later, smiling gently: "You're awake? Oh great, you are!"

I nodded.

"I'll get the doctor right away. You're a bit late for breakfast, but I'll try to get you some, just wait here, okay?"

I returned her kind smile. "It's not like I can go anywhere."

"Oh ... sorry. That was a bad choice of words."

I shook my head. "It's okay. I'm looking forward to the food."

A few minutes after she left, dad walked into the room, smiling as he gave me a hug. "Good to see you're finally up, sweetie. How's the head? Any pain at all?"

"I don't think so ... it seems fine."

"That's great. The nurse came to get me, she'll be back with the doctor soon. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

"Did ... did you tell mom?"

"I didn't. She'll just worry herself too much. We'll tell her once she's back home."

I nodded again. "I hoped you'd say that. By the way, what time is it?"

"A little past 9, why?"

"How ... how long was I out?"

"Oh, just since yesterday afternoon. I was still at practice when the hospital called me, but ... you really lucked out on this one."

"Why?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "Just thinking you could've been alone in the house when it happened makes me feel sick. Luckily, Kageyama was there ... he said he caught you before you fell to the ground. He called the ambulance and waited here until I came ... and even then, I had trouble sending him home. He seemed really worried about you."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Anyone would be if they saw someone faint. Did you tell him why?"

"I didn't. I think it's up to you whether or not you want him to know."

I smiled, thanking him for keeping my options open as the doctor finally came to check up on me. We talked for a bit, laughed about how I almost hit my head on something and made even more jokes about me having to stay in the hospital for a few days just to be sure.

It wasn't something either of us should be joking about ... but it made things easier for me. So everyone else just faked their smiles and laughed together with me about the tremendous headaches I might never get rid of.

 

~~~

 

As soon as the first period ended on Monday, Kageyama made his way to mine and Yachi's classroom, but while she was sitting in her usual spot, the desk next to her was empty. Busy sending a text message, she didn't even notice him until he came up to her desk. Uncertainty in his eyes, he pointed to my chair:

"Where ... where is she?"

Yachi stood up, motioning for him to follow her out of the classroom. "Try not to mention it in front of our classmates. They don't know," she mumbled as they headed down the hallway until they found a relatively empty corner on a staircase.

"She fainted. I was there. She fainted. And they took her to the hospital. She fainted!"

"I know ... I texted her."

"What happened? Is it because of her injury?"

"Kageyama ... calm down. You're shaking." She said, trying to smile as she placed her hands over his trembling fingers. "She'll be okay. It happens all the time."

He looked up at her in utter shock: "All the time? You mean she's fainted before?"

Yachi nodded. "She's been in the hospital 5 times already this school year."

Kageyama sighed, leaning against the wall with a blank expression on his face. "Why .... just ... why?"

Looking at him with sympathy, Yachi pondered for a while. "Well ... I guess it won't hurt to tell you the truth. But it's not something you can back out of - you probably won't see her the same way you did before if I tell you."

"I saw her collapse into my arms. I think it's safe to say I already can't see her like I did before."

She nodded. "I know what you mean ... it was the same for me, really. I saw her faint after the entrance ceremony. It's how we became friends, I suppose." She sighed, looking at Kageyama once again. "Well, the thing is ... did you know she's two years older than us?"

He shook his head, surprised.

"Yeah ... she should've been a third year. But in junior high ... after her second year, she started having a lot of headaches. Her parents told me she was in the hospital a lot ...  and then, while they were doing scans of her head ... they found something that shouldn't have been there." She paused, her voice shaking. "She had a brain tumour.  No one knew why. No one knew where it came from. They had to remove it as soon as possible, but during the operation, they found out it was bigger than they thought. Parts of the tumour didn't show up on the scans ... they had to rush the operation to make sure she survived ... and she was fine when she woke up ... and the tumour was all gone, but ... the damage had been done already."

"Damage?" Kageyama asked her, his voice barely a whisper due to the shock he was in upon hearing all this information.

"The headaches ... or actually, I think they're called migraines. She gets them all the time. Sometimes they're mild, sometimes they last for two or three days, sometimes they come out of nowhere ... and sometimes, they're so strong that she faints when she gets one. That's why she can't do anything related to intense physical activity ... even the things we do in gym class are sometimes too much for her."

"That's why she had to stop playing soccer?"

Yachi nodded. "And why she missed out on two years of school while she was in recovery. It's one hell of a condition ... but she learned to live with it. Though, I think sports weren't the only thing her migraines took away from her; she must have lost a lot more."

"Huh?"

Shaking her head, she tried to smile. "Sometimes, her parents talk about the way she was before they found the tumour: she had a lot of friends, even outside of her soccer team. They used to have kids over at their house almost every afternoon, but now ... I think I'm the only friend she has, and even that's just because I happened to be the one who saw her faint in the hallway at the entrance ceremony. She's cold to people all the time and she shows no interest in anything that has to do with making friends ... but after spending almost a whole year with her, I can see why.  She's sick of people trying to protect her ... she might get weak at times, but she's a strong person. She likes to be independent and wants to live a normal life more than anyone else ... but when people hear about her migraines, they can't help but babysit her, and she's had enough of that."

"I understand that ... I think I'd be annoyed too."

"Yeah ... and there was this one time ... she told me something she probably regrets saying, but I think it was what she truly believes. I asked her why she wouldn't make more friends at school and she told me that I'm only her friend because I got caught up in this on my own. She said she's not dragging anyone close to her because it's not fair. "I had to learn how to deal with the pain. I had to get used to something as scary as random fainting is and even when it was for my own sake, I hated doing it. I can't image pushing the same torture onto someone else ..."  she said something like that, I think. And I can understand what she means - I don't mind being there for her, but it takes a toll on me. The constant thoughts of whether she's okay. Looking out for the next time she faints. Trying to read her facial expressions when she's putting on a brave face. It's not easy, I can tell you that."

"But she's worth it."

Yachi looked up at him in surprise. "Kageyama?"

He met her gaze, no intention of looking away. "She's worth it. She's worth every single bit of worry people have for her. A lot of things aren't easy ... teaching me Math isn't easy ... spending her Saturday with an idiot like me isn't easy  ... but she still does it! She does things that aren't easy all the time and ... I wish I could do the same for her."

Taken aback, she continued to stare at him. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that much in one breath ... are you okay?"

Slowly, Kageyama hung down his head, staring at his hands for a while, thinking back to the moment he caught her in his arms. "I ... I don't know. I don't feel okay. I feel terrible, actually. When she collapsed right in front of me and I was holding her, calling out to her without an answer ... something happened. I don't know what's going on with me. I've been in panic for two days now. I don't think I slept for more than a few hours. I just ... I need to see her."

Yachi smiled, trying to make sense of what he told her. "Well ... I'm going to see her at the hospital after practice today, though just for a while because I have errands at home. Do you want to come with me?"

Before the bell rang, calling them both back to their classrooms, Kageyama nodded without a second thought.


	6. Chapter 6

I sat in my hospital room, quietly flipping through the pages of an astronomy magazine dad brought me before heading to work in the morning. I wasn't really expecting any visitors in the afternoon, but after the texts she had sent me, I kinda already knew that Yachi would stop by ... even if I told her not to.

Sure enough, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said, watching as Yachi opened the door before I even let her in. But then ... I saw Kageyama standing behind her, bowing his head before he closed the door behind them.

Yachi immediately ran up to me, as lively as always, babbling on about what I missed in school ... but I couldn't take my eyes off of Kageyama, standing a few steps behind her, uncomfortably looking around the room as if trying to avoid eye contact.

_Why the hell are you here? If you're here, that means ..._

I finally looked at Yachi, the question more than obvious in my eyes.

She quickly glanced at Kageyama, then looked back at me: "Yeah ... I told him. I thought it was okay ... and he said he wanted to come."

"Sure ..." I mumbled, not really sure what to make of the whole situation.

Then, he stepped closer to my bed so that he was standing right next to Yachi. "Sorry. It was my fault for making her tell me the truth."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just that - the truth. You saw me faint so there's no reason to hide it from you anymore."

"But you're not okay with it."

"Of course I'm not. I'm not okay with anyone knowing, don't take it personal." I closed my eyes, slightly shaking my head.

_Why am I doing this again? Why am I so mean to him? Why am I trying to make him go away? I don't want that ... but I also don't want him getting hurt and worried because of me like Yachi is._

With a faint smile, I turned to Yachi, deciding to ignore Kageyama for the rest of the visit: "You'll get me the notes once I come back, right?"

"Yes! And if you need anything else, just ask! Food, drinks, stuff to read ..."

I pointed to the assortment of snacks on the shelf next to the bed before lifting the magazine so she could see it: "Dad already took care of everything. He even bought the newest issue of this."

Yachi took it from my hands, flipping through and stopping to look at the pages with mostly pictures. "Wow, it's really pretty!"

I sighed. "You say that every time I get a new one."

"But it's true: space is so magical!"

"It really isn't ... it's just a lot of physics and even more of the unknown."

"Couldn't the unknown be magical?" 

"Unknown things are scary. It could be something great, but it could also be the end of everything. There's nothing magical about that."

She sighed, realizing it was hopeless to try and get me hyped, even if it was about my favorite topic. Handing the magazine back to me, she suddenly yelped when she saw the clock on the wall next to the window: "Oh my god, it's been 15 minutes already? I told mom I'd be home in time to go grocery shopping!"

"Then you should've just gone home instead of coming here."

She smiled, patting me on the head. "I already told you, that's not something I could live with. I wanted to see you, even if just for a few minutes."

"Sure." I said, blowing air through my nose.

"There she goes again ... the "friendship is so annoying" face." Yachi sighed. "You coming, Kageyama?"

He looked at her, then at me, then back at her. "I, uhm ... actually ...."

Yachi nodded, somehow making sense of the stuttering which was far beyond my comprehension. "I'll get going then. Have fun, you two!"

Without any warning, she was out the door, leaving me alone with Kageyama who, despite my harsh words, was still standing next to my bed like a loyal, confused puppy. I was about to tell him to get lost when he suddenly opened his mouth, pausing a little before he spoke:

"You wish you hadn't fainted in front of me, right?"

"Obviously."

"I think that's okay. I think everyone has things they wish they didn't happen ... or things they wish they hadn't done." He mumbled, looking just a little sad at the last few words. Looking at the magazine still sitting in my lap, he probably thought it would be a good way to change the topic: "You like astronomy?"

A cynical smile on my face, I nodded. "Yeah. Had to find a new hobby once soccer was out of my life."

He pulled up a chair, sitting down next to my bed. He looked at me for a while without saying a single word ... just his blue eyes staring at me for no reason at all.

_What's his problem ... seriously ... this is too close for comfort._

Leaning back in the chair, he frowned. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"That smile. It's not normal. You don't smile like that when you explain literature or throw volleyballs at me. This smile looks ... fake. I don't know why you do it but just ... don't."

I sighed, sinking into my pillow. "You're a pain in the ass to deal with."

"Sorry. So, is it interesting?" He said, pointing at the magazine.

I looked through it again, flipping pages. "Yeah ... there's an article about a comet that's gonna fly above Japan next Saturday morning. I was gonna watch it, but I guess that's off the table now."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not supposed to be alone for some time after I faint. Mom's still gonna be America, dad has a training camp with his team from Friday to Sunday and I even considered inviting Yachi to a sleepover, but then I realized it's her mom's birthday and they'll have all the relatives over ... so there's no one to watch over at me at 2AM on a Saturday and that's why I'll still be in the hospital."

"I can come over."

I snapped my head up to look at him: there was no trace of a joke on his face ... he was completely serious. "Kageyama ..."

"I mean ... uf ... if that's okay?"

Slowly, I nodded. "I ... I think dad would be okay with it. You did already save my life once, right? So you're totally okay! Oh, but are you sure you want to have a sleepover with me? You're gonna have to put up with my cooking again and besides the few moments when you watch the comet fly, waiting for it can be pretty boring!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind. You've invested so much time in me already, this is the least I can do to thank you.  Speaking of which, I almost forgot ..." He rummaged through his bag, dropping something into my lap moments later.

I picked it up, completely baffled: "Is this ... a can of tuna?"

"Mhm."

"Why ... why would you bring me this?"

"I wanted to get you something and this was the only thing I could think of that you probably like. Wait ... don't tell me you actually don't like tuna?"

"I do! I like any seafood in general! I'm just ... surprised. It's not a typical get-well gift."

"Well ... I'm glad you like it. I'd hate to carry that with me all the way here for nothing."

I laughed at the clear despise of tuna on his face. "What has this poor fish ever done to you?"

He grunted, looking to the floor. "In elementary school, some kids used to call me tuna to make fun of me."

Although inappropriately timed, I laughed again. "That doesn't make any sense! You don't look like a tuna!"

"Yeah but my name's Tobio and tobiuo is a type of fish."

"Tobio ..." I softly mumbled, looking at the can of tuna in my hand. "You actually have a really beautiful name."

"And I love the way you say it."

I looked at him in shock. "Huh?"

His gaze fell to the floor again, his face as red as a stop sign. "I ... I don't know why I said that. Just forget it."

Still confused, I nodded. "Y-Yeah ... thank you for the tuna though."

"No problem. I have to get going either way." He mumbled, taking his bag as he stood up.

"Thanks for coming," I mumbled, watching him walk towards the door.

Laying his hand on the door knob, he turned around, making eye contact with me for a brief moment: "Hey ... if I come with Yachi tomorrow too, will ... will you at least look at me?"

I gasped at his question.

_I wasn't expecting this ... why? Why does it matter to you if I ignore you or not?_

Before I got the chance to answer, he shook his head, opening the door. "Actually ... never mind. I'll still come see you even if you don't look at me at all."

And with that, he was out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Once he got home, Kageyama stormed straight to his room, throwing himself face-first onto his bed.

_Tobio ... Tobio ... Tobio ..._

He turned around, closing eyes and clenching his shirt around his heart.

_Tobio .... Tobio ... Tobio ..._

It didn't help. Nothing helped - he still wasn't able to get the sound of her saying his name out of his head. That one small word, the way she absentmindedly smiled as she said it, the softness of her voice ... it was too much.

_What are these feelings and why do I have them while I'm nowhere near a volleyball???_

He tried to calm down his breathing, tried to stop the images flashing in his head ... memories of her smiling, her throwing volleyballs at him, her never giving up no matter how stupid he was. And then, as if he were Hinata and life was nothing more than a volleyball, it hit him:

_I'm .... I think I ... No ... I can't ... she'd never ... not someone like me._

Slowly, he opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling for what felt like forever before tossing and turning again until he finally fell asleep.

 

~~~

 

Slightly distraught by the bad sleep he'd had, he had to run in order to make it to morning practice on time. No one mentioned anything, but he was sure Hinata and Tanaka were silently questioning why he missed the usual running contest from the gates to the club room ... well, not like it mattered. Not like anything mattered.

Noticing Kageyama's unusual lack of conviction, Ukai tried to catch a word with him after practice, but he left before he got the chance, so he took his concerns to Hinata instead:

"Hey, Hinata ... is there something wrong with Kageyama?"

"Not that I would know ... why?"

"Ah, it's probably nothing ... but when I got back to the store yesterday, my mom told me that he dropped by, stared at 3 different brands of tuna for 10 minutes, then bought one and left."

Hinata's jaw dropped. "Tuna?"

"Yeah ..."

"Excuse me!" Hinata yelled, jumping to his feet and running out of the gym. "Something is very, VERY wrong with my friend!"

 

He caught up to Kageyama on the staircase to the first year classrooms, grabbing him by the sleeve of his uniform:

"Hey, what's going on?!"

"Let go of me, dumbass."

"No! I heard you bought tuna - what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"So you're trying to tell me you just randomly bought tuna all of a sudden? I'm not gonna buy that! I know you have an irrational hate for tuna! You left me alone at lunch last month just because you saw a can of it in my bag, so what's going on?"

"I said it was nothing."

"Kageyama ... we said communication was important, remember?"

He sighed, lowering his head. "Yeah? Well then, have it your way. I am a stupid idiot with no concept of personal space and absolutely zero common sense. That's what's going on. Now let me go." He grumbled angrily, shoving Hinata away as he left with a grumpy expression on his face that got stuck there until hours later when him and Yachi walked down the hospital hallway together.

 

~~~

 

The day after receiving the peculiar can of tuna, I was woken up from my afternoon slumber by Yachi throwing herself at me, hugging me tight. I slowly opened my eyes to see a smiling Kageyama behind her, leaning closer with his energetic grin:

"Hey. Should I hold her back next time?"

"Please do."

And he did. The next day, he walked in, holding Yachi by the hood of her jacket. The day after that, he tied one end of his sweater to her arm and held the other one in his hand like a leash. I don't know if they purposefully arranged those shenanigans, but they made me smile and I was really, really looking forward to the weekend.

I planned to take a nap on Friday afternoon, but I couldn't shut my eyes for even a single second. As soon as I heard my door open, I got up from the bed as Yachi walked in ... alone.

She smiled, reaching out to hug me. "Don't give me that disappointed face. He'll come get you soon, he just went home to take his stuff."

"Whatever." I mumbled, returning the hug.

She looked at me, smiling. "You know, I'm almost jealous. You don't look as happy around me as you do around him."

"Wha- what?"

"Come on, you know what I mean!"

"I don't."

She sighed, her smile fading. "Don't tell me you haven't realized yet?"

"Yachi please stop confusing the shit out of me. Realized what?!"

"Just think about it ... what does Kageyama mean to you?"

I shook my head at the stupid question. "Obviously, he -"

I stopped. I wanted to say he doesn't mean anything. I wanted to say he was just like her ... someone who forced his way into my life by accident. But suddenly, all I could see was his grumpy smile, his blue eyes staring at me in confusion, his hair falling across his forehead when he tried to focus on literature and Math ... and it hit me that I wasn't looking forward to seeing the comet.

_No ... all this time, I've been waiting ... I've been looking forward to being with him._

"... he ... he means something to me."

Yachi smiled again, taking some notebooks out of her bag. "This is what I was talking about. I know it's scary. You've probably never felt this way about someone since the operation ... or maybe you did, you just didn't let it get to you. I know you're afraid of letting people close to you, but ... he did it anyway. Despite you being a rude, cold bitch most of the time. Don't you think that's at least a little impressive?"

I nodded silently, watching as she put the notebooks into my bag for me to copy the notes over the weekend.

"Look ... I'm not the best at dealing with people either. And I understand your reasons, I just ... think you shouldn't live your whole life the way you do now. Think about how many great people you might have missed out on! Don't make the same mistake again ... please."

"But ... I just don't want anyone to get hurt by my problems. I don't want anyone to bother or worry about me!"

"You know ..." she mumbled, turning to me. "If you didn't have these migraines, I'd probably hit your head with something on purpose just because you're so stubborn all the time! You can put up as many walls as you want to - in the end, the choice to get hurt or not, to worry about you or not bother at all ... that's still up to us to decide. I made my decision the moment I saw the fear in your eyes just before you fainted in front of me. And I think Kageyama made his decision too."

Just as she said that, the door flung open, the idiot flying through completely out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late!"

I shook my head. "You're not! I was just talking with Yachi about ... well, some of our classes. The ones you don't have."

Lucky for me, she nodded. "Yeah, I have to leave now anyway. Group projects are no fun when you're not there to do them! Thank god you're coming back on Monday."

I nodded, getting off the bed. "Thanks for everything, Yachi ... you're a good friend."

"I try my best! Also, don't forget what I told you - it's our choice!" She yelled before running out the door.

"Your choice?" Kageyama mumbled, looking at me with a questioning expression on his face.

"Inside joke. Never mind."

"Okay. You got all your stuff? Ready to leave?"

"Yeah ... just have to stop by the nurses' office to take the release form. Dad already signed it in the morning ... also, he wishes you good luck because apparently, I'm that bad of a cook."

"I know."

"Huh? But you said my cooking was okay!"

"Not that ... I know he wished me luck. He texted me earlier."

"What? Since when are you texting my dad?!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I saw him in the hallway on Tuesday, I think? We talked a little ... I told him I was gonna stay with you over the weekend, he said he heard about it already ... and we exchanged numbers just in case."

I sighed, face palming. "Don't ... don't have text conversations with my dad. That's just weird!"

"I'd much rather text you, but Yachi said you hate texting with people, so ... I assumed you wouldn't reply to me anyway."

"I ... I would reply." I mumbled as we walked out of my hospital room.

"You would?"

I nodded. "And I'd be happy if you texted me ... I think."

 

The atmosphere between us suddenly got heavy with silence as we walked out of the hospital and towards my home. I kept stealing glances at him, but he was looking at the ground before him, walking as if I hadn't just said something stupid - but he didn't reply.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time we got to my house, the awkwardness already dispersed and we were talking about random things like we always did: he told me about the new books they've been assigned, the homework Yachi helped him do, the way his teacher couldn't explain anything properly. I listened to his complaining in amusement as I made dinner for the two of us, thinking about how much I missed doing things on my own for the past week.

_It feels good to be home. And it feels good to be with him._

As we ate, I couldn't help but notice he's been watching me all the time. "Hey ... you don't have to keep your eyes on me so much. I'm not gonna drop dead out of nowhere again ... I hope, at least." I said, attempting to smile.

He looked away. "I wasn't ... I mean ... actually, never mind."

"It's okay, I'm used to Yachi being overly worried anyway. You done with food?"

"Yeah ... it was great."

"You were just hungry. I can't cook well, I told you that a bunch of times."

"And I keep saying I like your cooking."

"You're stupid."

"Mhm."

I punched his shoulder. "Don't just agree with me when I offend you! Fight back or something!"

"But ... it's the truth. And it doesn't really matter. You'd think I'm cool if you saw me play volleyball."

"Probably." I said, laughing. "Now get off your ass and help me prepare stuff."

"Stuff?" He asked, following me to my room.

"The telescope."

"Wow. You have one of those?"

"Not really. I'm getting one for my next birthday, but for now, I borrowed one from the astronomy club. It's quite good, actually. Just needs a hell lot of setup and calibration."

"Aha. And where are you gonna put it?"

I grinned, pointing to the window shelf above my bed. "That's so wide for a reason, you know?"

"You had it made so it would fit a telescope?"

"No, I had it made so it's big enough I can sit on it. But it also happens to fit a telescope."

"Mhm. So, how can I help you?"

"Put this together. It's the stand, you can't screw it up. I'll work on the lenses in the mean time. We still have a few hours left, and I can show you some constellations before the comet appears."

"Okay." He mumbled, taking the parts I handed him.

 

We leisurely set everything in place while continuing our conversation. Once the telescope was sitting safely at the window and the sky got dark enough, I pushed the countless pillows away to make space for the two of us on my bed.

"How many of these do you have?" Kageyama mumbled, picking up one that fell to the floor in the process.

"I have no idea. More than 20 for sure."

He chuckled, throwing the pillow back to me. "Don't tell me that the reason you have a king-sized bed is just so you can have all these?"

I smiled slightly, sitting in front of the telescope. "Quite the opposite, actually ..." I mumbled, trailing off as I felt him sit down next to me, his shoulder brushing against mine.

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "The reason I got this bed was because ... after the surgery ... I had to stay in bed a lot, and my parents thought it would make me happier if I had more space. But it kinda ... made me even more sad. At night, when I would try to ignore the headaches and sleep, it would suddenly feel so empty ... so paralyzingly lonely. I never liked plush animals, but one day, I was at the store and saw this ..." I said, pulling a worn out blue pillow with stars on it out of the pile. "Mom bought it for me. I slept with it in my arms every day and eventually ... I bought another one. And then another one. And I got some as gifts too ... I didn't buy all of them myself, if that's what you were thinking." I whispered, trying to smile and not sound pathetically weak. "But yeah ... they're not just some interior design thing, they actually matter a lot to me. They make me feel less lonely. I'm sorry if that ... if it was too stupid. Maybe I shouldn't have told you."

He shook his head. "It's okay. I, uhm ... I sometimes sleep hugging a volleyball. If I'm nervous before a match. Or if I practice tosses in bed and then fall asleep by accident."

"That's ... something I can totally see you doing." I laughed a little, trying to cover it up. "So, which constellation do you wanna see?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Is there a crow?"

"Hmm ... there are 42 animals, but I'm not sure about a crow. I know there's an eagle?"

"Nope. Not gonna watch an eagle. I had enough of Shiratorizawa."

"Such a simpleton. Well, I know there's a dove, a phoenix, a toucan, ..." I went on, messing with the focus of the lens. "Oh, I just remembered - look at this!" I said, grinning as he leaned closer to look through the telescope.

"What is it?"

"Probably your least favorite constellation."

"Huh?"

"It's called Piscis Volans, which is Latin for tobiuo - the flying fish."

He looked away from the scope, faking a pout. "You're right. I hate it. You better find me a crow now."

"Okay, okay! There's a raven, will you be okay with that?"

He gave me a confused look. "Aren't ravens and crows the same thing?"

"Never mind ... I forgot I'm talking to you. And no, they're 2 different species. Now here you go - the raven!" As he looked at it, I took the time to describe what he was seeing. "It's the weird square thing. The broken line under it represents Hydra, the water snake, and the raven is sitting on it."

"Which one is your favorite? Or is having favorite constellations not a thing?"

"It is a thing ... but I don't think you'd like it! The first one I was interested in is really famous ... it's called the Southern Cross. But then I found out that there's a Northern Cross too, and it's part of a constellation called the Swan."

He pouted again. "Really? Does everything have to be Shiratorizawa related?"

"No, I swear there's nothing more! Anyway, there's al-"

"Let me see it."

"Huh?"

"The swan. Your favorite. I wanna see it."

Perplexed, I searched for it in the sky and then moved away for him to look at it. "But I thought you didn't care for the swan ..."

"I do. Because it's your favorite."

"Th-Thank you ... I guess. See that really bright star? That's Deneb. The 19th brightest star and also a part of the Summer Triangle, which is another really famous constellation."

 

We went on looking at random stars before the comet was scheduled to fly over. I offered to make him some tea, but he refused and ended up settling for warm milk once I insisted he has to drink something. Looking at him sitting on the other side of my bed with a coffee mug full of milk in his hands, I couldn't help but smile as I drank my tea.

_He really is more handsome than I ever realized ... oh, of all the people this could've happened with ... why did it have to be this oblivious idiot? I don't even have a chance ... it's not like I'm a volleyball or something._

"What's so funny?"

I looked up and saw Kageyama watching me, smiling at me with the most gorgeous smile. "H-Huh?"

"You have this huge silly grin on your face. What's funny?"

"Oh, that's ... nothing! It's about time now so gulp down that milk and get here. It's gonna be over in about three minutes anyway."

He nodded, scooting over next to me. Focused on the lens, I didn't notice the pain in his eyes as he looked at me or the soft sigh that escaped his lips after a while.

After the long wait, my eyes finally lit up. Watching it in silence for a moment, I then turned to him, pushing him in front of the lens. "It's here! Isn't it cool? Look!"

He nodded, pulling away once it was out of sight. "Pretty. That's all there is to it?"

"Sadly. This telescope isn't high tech enough to be used for tracking motion ... but at least we can still see it in the sky outside." I said, pointing to where the comet was splitting the winter sky like a lone falling dot in between constellation where everything else had its place. With my hand stretched out, I followed the comet's trail to make sure Kageyama could see it. "Here ... I guess it's almost like a shooting star now."

"Is that the thing people make wishes on?"

"Yeah, I think some do. Why-"

My words were caught of by the warmth of his fingertips, reaching out for my hand. Speechless, I turned to him as he took my hand in his, clasping it tight. Bathed in the dim moonlight, he seemed almost mythically gorgeous ... but his words were more than real:

 

"I wish you'd never have to feel lonely again."


	9. Chapter 9

I stared at him in silence. We've exchanged numerous glances over the course of our studies, we looked at each other all the time and we even had our fair share of stare-downs when either of us was too stubborn to deal with the other. 

But this was different. He's never before looked so helpless, so lost, so ... full of emotion. His eyes always seemed uninterested and distant but now ... it felt almost as if his gaze was calling for me.

"Ka-" I wanted to call out to him, but I stopped.

_No ... this isn't the same guy who came here complaining about poetry months ago. This isn't the guy I yelled Math formulas at, or the guy I hit with volleyballs ... this ... this really is something entirely different. There's no going back if ..._

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the warmth of his hand left mine ... but before I could even react, I felt his fingers brush against my ear, tucking away loose strands of hair as he rested his palm on my cheek.

Overwhelmed with emotion, only a small whisper escaped my mouth - but it was enough.

"Tobio."

It was enough. Enough for him to pull me into a hug, enough for me to wrap my arms around his neck, enough for both of us to close our eyes as our lips met in a kiss that felt so perfect, I could hardly believe it wasn't a scripted movie scene. With every slow moment of his lips against mine, the mess of emotions in my mind faded a little, boiling down to one single realization:

_It's real. This feeling I've been avoiding and doubting since the first time I felt it ... it's real._

Our eyes met again as we slowly pulled away. Everything we needed to know was already said in that one kiss. Our gaze held a thousand words, but still ... I needed to say it. I needed him to hear it.

"I love you."

The words echoed between my walls, but they weren't just my own. We stared in shock for a second, barely registering what we both so desperately whispered into the night ... but in the next moment, we kissed again. He pulled me even closer, stealing my every breath and returning his own. I ran my fingers through his hair, I hugged him tighter than I thought was possible, I cupped his cheeks in my hands as I returned his wonderful kiss ... but no matter what I did, it still felt like I was too far away from him. Like I needed the beat of his heart more than my own. Like I'd lose my mind if he were any farther than right next to me, holding me in his arms.

We slowly ended the kiss, barely finding air to breathe in between the need for each other. Quietly gasping for air, his eyes never left mine as I struggled to find the right words to tell him everything I was feeling:

"Tobio ... for the first time in my life, I feel like I'll faint and I'm actually happy about it. My head is spinning, no, everything inside me is spinning. It's like a silent tornado and I ... I have no idea where it came from. All I know is that you made me fall in love with you and I ... I hate myself for falling. I absolutely ha-"

He cut me of with a quick kiss, wiping away the tears I didn't even notice were there until he laid his hands on my cheeks.

"Don't say that ... don't regret it. Please. I'm happy it ended up this way."

"But how? I didn't think you cared for anything other than volleyball. I didn't think I mattered to you."

"And I didn't think you'd ever care for someone as stupid as me."

I chuckled, blushing. "I guess we were both wrong."

"Yeah, because I'm completely in love with you. Like, what even is volleyball anymore? You're the only thing on my mind and I feel so stupid because ... remember when I told you that love is overrated and that I was never in love?"

"I do."

"Well ... it wasn't a lie. But shortly after I said it, it just hit me out of nowhere ... that I was in love with you. But then again, it wasn't out of nowhere, actually. It felt as if it was always there ... because the more I thought back, the more I realized that I couldn't remember a time when I hadn't loved you."

"I know ... I didn't notice it either. By the time Yachi made me face the music, it was already too late ..."

"Too late?"

I looked up, smiling at the innocent expression on his face. "Can't you see it? This will never work out. It's not supposed to happen. You're not supposed to be in love with someone who might be in and out of hospitals for the rest of her life, you idiot. It's gonna hurt you over and over again. You're gonna get tired of the constant worrying eventually."

He clenched his teeth, looking at me for a while. "You might be right. I might not be good enough for you. I might be a coward who'll cave in eventually. Some day, I might even get hurt because I fell in love with you, but .... right now, nothing in this world hurts me more than the thought of you being alone. Having all these emotions but still acting cold. Protecting everyone else but leaving no room for anyone to protect you. It hurts so much ... I can't take it. I want to climb over these walls you have around you. I want to be there for you ... today, tomorrow, next week, in five years or whatever. I already made it to your heart, you already said you love me so ... why won't you let me stay?"

I lowered my gaze, looking at my trembling hands.

"Are you ..."

"Yeah. I'm begging you to let me be your boyfriend. Please."

"Tobio ... you're really walking the thin line between romantic and desperate."

He shrugged his shoulders, taking my hands in his again. "Unknown things are scary. It could be something great, but it could also be the end of everything. There's nothing magical about that."

"Huh?"

"You said that to Yachi once when you were talking about the universe. And as far as the universe goes, it might be true. But with love, it couldn't be farther away from the truth. I don't know much about being in love yet ... but I'm not afraid of loving you and making promises that I plan to keep. And absolutely everything about the way you make me feel is magical. That's why I don't really care what I have to do ... I won't stop until you're mine. Please, be my girlfriend. Please."

"I won't be surprised if this doesn't even last a few months."

"I know."

"And you're free to leave whenever you want. I'd hate to see you worn out because of me."

"I know that too. Is that a yes?"

"Yeah ... congratulations, I guess. You got a really broken girlfriend."

"Great. Just the one I wanted!" He laughed, pulling me to his chest as we both tumbled into the pile of pillows on my bed.

"What ... what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna be your pillow."

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him. "Wow ... I really do love you. This is insane. I love you. I love you, Tobio!"

"Oh ... that." He mumbled, suddenly blushing. "I have a few confessions left. The first time you said my name and I told you the way you said it was beautiful ... I really meant that. I think that was the last nail in my coffin. I barely slept that night ... I was so desperate to hear it again. And today, when you caught me staring at you ... I wasn't really worried about you fainting again. I just couldn't look away because you were so beautiful and every single bit of me just wanted to scream out how much I love you."

"Tobio ...."

He shivered, hugging me tighter. "Ahh, there you go again. I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

I laughed, kissing his cheek. "Tobio, Tobio, Tobio."

He looked at me, a slight challenge in his eyes. "Are you teasing me on purpose?"

"Yes."

In a second, he stole my lips again, pulling away right when I was about to lose myself in the kiss. "I think the thing I love most about you is how blunt you always are. However ..."

"However?"

"I'll make sure to make you shut up tonight."

 

And he was right. Neither of us said a single word for the rest of the night ... but by the time we fell asleep in each other's arms, our lips have said it a thousand times:  _I love you._


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up in the morning, staring at the ceiling while last night's events hit me all over again. Looking over at Tobio still sound asleep next to me made me smile more than I ever thought it would and I couldn't help but get lost in my thoughts.

_We kissed. No, that doesn't even remotely describe it ... kissing is a stupidly simple word for something so incredible. Falling in love is kinda amazing, but nothing compared to being loved back. I don't wanna wonder how this happened anymore ... I'll just do my best to be the greatest possible girlfriend in existence._

With that on my mind, I quietly slipped out of the bed, took a cold shower to calm my nerves and headed into the kitchen. In the middle of making pancakes, I heard faint footsteps in the hallway and the sound of water running in the bathroom.

_He's awake. Eeeeek, I now feel excited for no reason!_

I tried hard to focus on not burning the pancakes, and it was kinda working out until suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around me, hugging me from the back. Smiling, I felt Tobio bury his face into my neck, messing up my hair in the process. Turning off the stove, I spun around in his arms, wanting to give him a small "good morning" kiss, but I was taken aback by how red his face was and how his eyes seemed to avoid mine the moment I turned around.

"Are ... are you blushing?"

"Mhm."

"Why?" I mumbled, cupping face in my hands.

He looked at me with a baffled look on his face. "Because ... last night, I ... I went completely out of my territory. I've never kissed anyone before ... and then I kissed you a million times yesterday. I just figured out that maybe, they weren't good kisses. Maybe I should've held back a little. Maybe I shouldn't have let everything out, but ... once you said you love me, I ..."

I cut him off, pressing my lips against his. He froze for a moment but then kissed me back almost immediately, hugging me even tighter. Slowly pulling back after a while, I smiled at him:

"Tobio ... this is me telling you that one, kissing you feels like a direct ticket to heaven, and two, you're an over-thinking idiot."

"R-Really?"

I nodded.

"That's ... great. Also, don't call me that all the time! It gives me this weird feeling in my chest and I feel like I'm getting addicted to it ... because it feels so amazing."

I chuckled, kissing him again. "But I like saying it! Your eyes sparkle each time I do it!"

He laughed, letting go of me for a moment to run his hands through his hair. "Gaaaah, what even is this? I just woke up to the most beautiful girlfriend in the whole universe and the first thing she tells me in the morning is that she loves kissing me. And then she goes on to tease me with the one weakness I have!"

"Do you have complaints?"

"Oh no. None. Absolutely no complaints. I'm all in .... I'm all yours." He said, grinning victoriously as he wrapped me in his arms again, leaving no room for me to run away - not that I would want to.

I laughed like an idiot as he left slow, soft kisses on my forehead, nose, eyelids ... any place he could reach. "Tobio, I made breakfast for a reason, you know?"

He smiled, looking at me one last time before stealing my lips for what I hoped would be an indefinite eternity.

"Breakfast? Nah ... don't need it."

I gladly gave in to his wonderful, breathtaking kiss. His kisses were a lot like him, actually: confident, beautiful and overwhelmingly powerful. They were something I wanted to feel over and over again, something I wanted to get lost in, something ... something I didn't really mind letting close to me. No - if anything, I needed his lips to be right next to mine. I needed him to be right next to me and the way he held me in his arms finally made me realize that I wasn't protecting anyone by being cold to people ... I was only sheltering myself from the guilt of wearing people out with my own weaknesses. But Yachi was right: whether or not they let me wear them out isn't my choice, it's theirs. And from the way he kissed me like there was no tomorrow, I could tell Tobio already made his choice a long time ago. It was in the way his lips moved against mine, the way he smiled at me, the way his eyes sparkled when I called his name ... all of him was silently screaming out the message I chose to no longer ignore:

_I love you. I want you. I want to be with you. I want to cry with you so you won't feel lonely and I even want to cry because of you if that means I'll get to see your smile again the next day._

 

_~~~_

 

Eventually, we did take the time to eat the by then already cold pancakes. In the middle of our extremely late breakfast, the door bell rang out of nowhere and I was more than surprised to see Yachi standing in the door:

"Hey hey! I don't have much time 'cause my aunt's family is still staying over, but I just wanted to check up on you two to make sure you haven't killed each other yet! You're having pancakes for lunch? Or is that your breakfast? Geez, how long did you guys sleep for? If I had known you just barely got up, I wouldn't have hauled all this leftover cake with me! Mom's party was awesome, by the way, how about the comet?"

"It was ... uh ... nice." I mumbled, still surprised by the unexpected visit.

_We're gonna have to tell her ... this is gonna be awkward._

I kept my thoughts to myself, silently looking at Tobio who caught my gaze and nodded after a while, immediately taking my hand and turning to Yachi who was busy showing slices of cake in my fridge:

"Yachi, there's something we want to tell you about us."

She turned around, looking at him for a moment before she noticed our linked hands. "No ... you guys didn't."

I smiled, squeezing his hand tighter. "We kinda did. He's my boyfriend now."

She laughed a little, turning back to the fridge. "What a bunch of simpletons, both of you! I was hoping this would happen eventually but oh my, you two really didn't fool around! So, who confessed first?"

"Both of us, I think." Tobio mumbled, blushing in the slight embarrassment of having Yachi notice our feelings before we did.

"Well, good luck! You're both two exceptionally heavy personalities to deal with."

"What do you mean?" He said, tilting his head in confusion. "She's the sweetest, most adorable person I've ever seen in my life."

"And he's wonderfully romantic when you'd least expect him to be!" I chimed in, equally confused about whatever she was trying to say.

She sighed, letting a breath of air out through her nose as she picked up her bag. "So that's what they mean when they say that love is blind. Or maybe it's just that both of you are so weird, you were meant for each other? Whatever, I guess. I'm really happy for you! Guess I'll leave you guys to it then ... but if you'll ever have some time to still hang out with me, I'll be happy."

She was already at the door when I let go of Tobio's hand to run after her and give her a hug. "Of course I'll have time for you. I finally realized what you've been trying to tell me. Thank you for choosing to bother with me - I'm happy you did. I'm sorry for not appreciating your friendship earlier. And you're definitely welcome to third-wheel us any time, right?"

Tobio nodded, giving a thumbs up. "You kinda got us together in the first place anyway. Thanks."

She shrugged her shoulders, patting me on the back. "Okay then ... but I might not be third-wheeling for long!"

"Wait what?"

"You'll see! Bye bye!" And she was out the door, gone like the wind.

I looked at Tobio, trying to make sense of it all: "What did she mean by that?"

"I dunno. But I do know that I won't let go of you again for the rest of the day." He whispered, hugging me tight as he kissed me.

"Really? You wanna do this in the hallway?" I looked up at him, smirking.

"I could kiss you in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn't matter to me at all. But if you don't like it ..." He turned around, tugging on my arm to follow him as he ran towards my room, wrapping his arms around me again before he gently pushed me down on the bed, getting both of us lost in the sea of pillows.

"... I can just take you here where no one in the world will find us."

I smiled like an idiot, taking his face in my hands as I pulled him closer to give him a kiss. "Oh Tobio ... you make me fall in love with you over and over again. Please, don't ever stop doing that."

"I won't." He whispered before returning the kiss.

 

We spent the rest of the day cuddling in bed, eating Yachi's cake for dinner like two rebellious kids running aloof at a sleepover and joking about how much of a shock we'd cause the next morning - after all, both of my parents were coming home on Sunday and it was certainly going to be an interesting introduction.

_Hey mom, hey dad. You know the guy that annoyed me so much I had to throw volleyballs at him? Well yeah, it turns out I love him._

Just the thought of it made me laugh out loud until I finally drifted to sleep in his embrace once again, after reassuring him a million times that my parents don't think he's just some stupid idiot.

It was true - they might not have thought much of him, but they were both happy I was tutoring someone. My dad found him interesting from day one and I knew my mom was considering asking him to stay for dinner more than once ... so I was not at all surprised when my dad loudly applauded the news right after he got home in the morning, immediately claiming Tobio as his "future son-in-law with an unfortunate taste in sports". But even though his dream of discussing soccer with my future boyfriend was shattered, he was extremely happy for me. Nothing compared to mom though - when she got home in the evening, it was the first time she didn't bother making a joke about having to starve to death on dad and I's poor cooking. Instead, she apologized to Tobio for being welcomed to the family on such bad food for the past few days and insisted to make it up to him with a proper dinner .... and I have to admit that the steaks she cooked for us were way out of my league.

_Though now, I might actually have a reason to improve my cooking skills ... I mean, I do have an idiot who'll gladly eat anything I make for him and insist it's good, so why not?_

We ate together, laughed together and I genuinely felt happier than I ever did before. He hugged me tighter than ever before saying goodbye to go back home. He said he wanted to introduce me to the team tomorrow and he even insisted he wants me to finally meet his parents too.

It was a good day. Life, in general, was good. And most importantly - I was happy about it.


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you sure about this?"

I mumbled, gripping Tobio's hand for dear life as I reluctantly followed him towards their gym on Monday morning.

"Mhm."

"But what if a ball hits my head?"

He chuckled, intertwining his fingers with mine. "You know, I'm not sure what mental image you have but we're really not a team of idiots! You're not gonna get hit in the head, you're not Hinata."

_Hinata this, Hinata that ... do I know him? No idea. Yachi keeps running her mouth about the whole team all the time, how am I expected to remember their names?_

"Once again, I have no idea who that is."

"That's why you have to meet him. And everyone else. Then you'll see I'm not ... well, I'm not that stupid!"

I sighed, giving in to my apparently inevitable fate with a smile on my face. "You know I don't really care about your grades and all that, right? I mean ... as long as you pass."

He nodded, looking to the ground as a faint blush spread across his cheeks. "I know, it's just that ... uhm ... I mean, you're really smarter than me, plus a lot more responsible, plus two years older ... I guess I feel just a little insecure standing next to you."

I smirked, looking up at him. "Oh really? The super talented genius player who, according to Yachi, led his team to the Nationals feels insecure next to a girl who is just kinda good at reading books and memorizing useless things?"

"You're a lot more than just that. You're amazing. And I love you."

I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek as we walked up to the gym. "I love you too. And thank you ... I think you're amazing as well. By the way, is Yachi gonna be here? Maybe she told them already ..."

He shook his head. "I doubt. The managers don't usually start Monday morning practices with us, they come later with Takeda sensei. Paperwork and stuff ... I think."

"Oh ... okay. Probably better this way, she'd really over-hype the whole thing. Is she always that upbeat at practice?"

"Mhm." He mumbled, opening the gym door. "Sometimes, she's even giddier than Hinata."

_There he goes with Hinata again ... at this point, I want to meet him just to know why Tobio gushes about him all the time! Well, they might be interesting people. Wait, does this count as making friends? Or is that like ... too many people at once?_

"Morning!"

A few absent-minded greetings followed Tobio's, echoing from different ends of the gym. Slowly, I looked around, grasping the scene before me as best as I could.

_Three guys watching videos on a tablet ... wait, does one have his hair in a bun? Impressive! And then, are those two ... are they setting up the net or are they fighting? Is this their idea of friendly banter? Also, one of them is kinda ... super short. Is that Hinata?_

Just as I was thinking that, an excited shriek came from the other end of the court:

"Kageyamaaaaa, give me a toss!"

I turned to see an orange-haired boy running towards us and stopping abruptly when he saw me.

"Ey ... Kageyama? Who's this?" He asked, looking at me as if I've been taken hostage.

_Nope, THIS is Hinata. The other guy Yachi is tutoring. Makes sense._

I glanced at Tobio, seeing him grin as he gripped my hand tighter. "Guys, actually ... I know not everyone's here yet, but still ... I wanna introduce you to someone."

All eyes were suddenly on him and in less than a second, the boys previously scattered around the gym formed a half circle around us.

"Look at that!! Did you bring us an extra manager, Kageyama?! She's cute too! Noya, are you seeing this?!"

_Yikes. This one has as much hair as he has decency: almost zero. Why is he staring at me like that? Wait, actually ... why are him and that other small one BOTH staring at me like a god just walked through the door?!_

I was gonna say something, but Tobio got there before me:

"She's not an extra manager. And please don't stare at my girlfriend like that, it's creepy."

"Girl .... friend?"

"GIRLFRIEND?"

"Girlfriend?!"

Amidst the shock on everyone's face, a small, cynical chuckle sounded out behind us. I turned around to see two more guys standing at the door: a tall blonde one and a slightly shorter brunette partially hiding in his shadow.

The blonde one walked up to me, eyeing me from head to toe: "Aren't you in Yachi's class? You sure you wanna go out with ... him? He's kinda stupid, you know."

"I know. But I'm also in love with him so it doesn't really matter."

For a moment, I saw his eyes widen before he sighed and walked past me. "Ah, a hopeless case. Congratulations, King. It seems like intelligent women really do always go for idiots. Which means both of us will just stay single forever, right, Yamaguchi?"

The brunette followed him, looking sheepishly to the ground. "Uhm ... actually, I ..."

"Yamaguchi?"

He looked up, smiling at Tobio and I: "Well first of all, I am really happy about you two, but if we're doing this now, I ... uhm ... I kinda have an announcement too. I'm going out with Yachi."

"Wait ... what?"

"WHAT?"

"What?!!!"

He shrugged his shoulders, blushing: "She showed up at my house yesterday and asked me out ... I really didn't expect it, but ... I do have a huge crush on her so, ehm ... I obviously said yes."

_Oh ... so that was what she meant with "I'm not gonna be a third wheel for long" ... interesting. She never told me!_

"What is this? Just what is this?" The bald one yelled out, running circles around the gym. "Why is everyone suddenly in couples?"

"Ryu ... let's just be glad Kiyoko is still single." The small one said, stopping him in his tracks.

"Right ... but first, I wanna know how this happened! I mean, the Yachi thing was obvious, but you ..." He said, grinning at Tobio, "I wanna know how on earth you managed to charm a girl! Or even before that, how did she even get you to notice her?"

I watched, smiling as he rubbed his chin with his thumb: "I ... I dunno. What did I do to get you?" He mumbled, looking at me with a pleading expression on his face.

However, I was completely unable to help him out. "You know ... actually ... I have no idea. It just kinda happened?"

He nodded: "Yeah, that's it. It just happened. I woke up one day and I was in love with her. Now, let me introduce you guys - first of all, this is Hinata ... and then this is Nishinoya ..."

 

Walking towards the gym, Kiyoko suddenly stopped in her tracks, watching the scene unfolding before her eyes.

"You okay?" Yachi called out to her, stopping as well.

"Yes. I just never thought I would see Kageyama introducing his girlfriend to the team. I almost didn't believe you until now."

"Well, it's not my fault they're both the most unlikely people to end up together. Now let's go, I wanna see my boyfriend too!"

"Sure, sure ... I'm just wondering ... do you think two people like that can really be happy together? Somehow ... they seem too alike."

"Her and Kageyama? I'm not at all worried about them. They're both straightforward and stubborn as hell, but I think ... that's what makes them perfect for each other. They know they're in love, they're not afraid of it anymore and neither of them wants to back down on loving the other with everything they have." Yachi said before she ran through the gym doors and straight into Yamaguchi's arms.

Maybe it wasn't her place to make comments on a relationship even she was surprised by - but in the end, she was once again completely right.


	12. The Epilogue

A strand of hair slipped across my face, tickling my nose as the light of the morning sun forced its way through the curtains. I opened my eyes just a little, blowing away the loose strand of hair as I stretched out my arms, ready to get up. In the same moment, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, yanking me back under the blanket:

"No."

I chuckled silently, squiggling to escape his grip. "But Tobio, you'll be late for practice! You can't do that on the National team!"

"I have the day off." He mumbled, kissing my shoulder.

I turned around to face him, gazing at his messy hair and sleepy eyes. "Really? You never told me."

"I didn't have to ... I know you don't have classes on Fridays anymore and I wanted to surprise you."

"Oh ... I really, really wonder what for!"

Before I had the chance to act stupid any longer, he already kissed me, the warmth of his chest pressing against mine overwhelming me as he slowly tangled his hands in my hair: "Because it's already been five years since the day I first kissed you and I still can't get enough of you."

"Not even after last night?" I giggled, playfully tugging on his hair

In a second, his lips slipped across my jawline, leaving a trail of quick, feverish kisses until I felt his warm breath on my ear.

"You damn well know it just makes me want you more right after." He whispered, his teeth teasing the edge of my earlobe.

"Tobio ..."

Laughing, he stole my lips again, pulling me back into his embrace. "Not right now though ... I have other things planned today. But when we get back in the evening ... I'll make you feel the best you've ever felt since you've been mine."

I returned his kiss, a smile on my lips: "You always say that."

"Do I ever disappoint?"

I shook my head, kissing him again. "Never. So what big plans do you have for our anniversary this year?"

"Hmmm ... they're good ones, I promise. I can't wait to see your face. But then again, it means I have to let go of you and I really, really, really don't wanna stop cuddling with you right now!"

"You're an idiot."

"Mhm." He sighed, kissing me again ... and before I knew it, both of us got lost in a hurricane of kisses.

 

Hours later, we left our Tokyo apartment hand in hand, him smiling wide and me trying to figure out where he was taking me as we headed to the train station:

"Is it something about astronomy again?"

"Nope."

"A super fancy date?"

"As if I don't do that all the time already."

"An extra super fancy date?"

"Now you're just adding words to it. What are you, Hinata?"

"Hmm ... does he have something to do with it?"

"Maybe."

"What do you mean, maybe?" I asked, jokingly punching his shoulder. "If you two planned something together, I'm really worried!"

"We didn't. He just happened to have a useful connection. Now close your eyes for a while."

I listened to him, closing my eyes shut as he dragged me onto one of the trains without letting me see the name of the line. We got off at the third stop and he carefully led me out of the station, not allowing me to open my eyes until a long while later when we were already walking down a random street.

"I guess you can look now. Know where we are?"

I looked around, nodding immediately. "Less than a minute away from the national soccer team's stadium. But why -"

"Wait and you'll see! Now, I hope he won't be late ..." he mumbled to himself, looking around as we stopped in front of the stadium.

"Oi, Kageyama!"

I turned around to see a brown haired guy waving at Tobio, running up to him.

"Hey. You're just on time."

"Phew, I almost missed the train. Almost! Anyway, I have to get going right away, so here." He said, catching his breath as he shoved something into Tobio's hand.

"Thanks again, Kouji." He said, smiling as he bowed to the guy.

"No problem, you can just give it back to Shouyou the next time you see him. I have a backup either way. See ya!" He flashed me a smile before turning around and jogging down the street from where he came just minutes earlier.

"What are you staring at? Come on, let's go!"

I snapped out of it, following Tobio around the building where he opened the back door with a key card, leading me inside.

"Is ... is that what he brought you?"

"Mhm. He went to the same middle school as Hinata and even played some volleyball besides doing soccer. I didn't even know he made the national team until a few months ago, but then I immediately had to ask for a favor! He said it was no problem, really ... apparently, they train outside whenever the weather is good anyway, so we're completely alone here."

"But Tobio ...  I don't understand why you'd bring me here."

He smiled, picking up a stray soccer ball lying at the side of the huge field. "I might have almost failed math in high school but I can count days just fine. It kinda lined up really perfectly ... because today, of all days, also marks six months since the last time you had any kind of headache."

I gasped, quickly counting the months in my mind.

_... four, five, five and three weeks ... holy shit, he's right!_

"What's with that surprised face? Don't tell me you stopped keeping track!"

I tried to form a reply, but no words came out of my mouth. Instead, I heard the words of my doctors echo in my head over and over again:

_If you ever go half a year without any symptoms, it'll be safe for you to do sports again. But until then ..._

"I ... I really wasn't keeping track of it." I mumbled, eye still wide in shock.

"How come? Isn't this what you wanted since the start?"

Slowly, I nodded. "Yeah, but ... sometime after you came along, I was so happy with the life I had, I just ... stopped wishing to get my old one back. You're more than enough of a distraction, you know! You showed me a world I never even dreamed of ... and I ... I ..."

He grinned at my loss for words, dropping the ball he was holding and awkwardly kicking it over to me. "I'm glad. I'm glad I could help you move on in a way. But at the same time ... I still want to see it. The world you lived in before you lost everything. Won't you show me?"

I looked down, slightly moving the ball with my feet. "I'm probably not any good anymore ... and I barely remember the person I was when I still played!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter to me if you remember or not. It was an important part of you for a while ... and even if you can't even kick it accurately anymore, I still want to learn about every part of the woman I love. That includes seeing you chase this ball around like a maniac too! So please ... teach me how to play a little."

Looking back up at him, I sent the ball to his feet with a well-aimed kick. "You're not giving up on this, are you?"

He shook his head: "No way. I'm too stubborn and ..."

I watched him as he clumsily moved the ball around, practically walking it back to me until he stood right in front of me, gazing down at the smirk on my face.

"And?" I asked, putting my foot on the ball without moving my eyes away from him.

"... and I love you too much." He whispered, slowly kissing me, his lips still curved into a smile as they brushed against mine.

 

We kissed for a while, standing alone in the stadium that seemed almost suffocatingly empty. But the emptiness around me didn't bother me at all - in fact, I could hardly notice it over the sound of our hearts beating together ... the hearts so full of love that even after five years, they still felt like they could burst from the feelings we had for each other.

_Tobio ... I remember it perfectly. Our first kiss under the stars. The first time we said "I love you" to each other. I know you'd say I'm being silly, but I don't really feel the need to chase a ball around the field anymore. I don't feel the need to chase anything, actually ... because I already caught my shooting star a long time ago._


End file.
